Long Chen continued walking along the passage when suddenly, abruptly, strange noises erupted from the walls, followed by a series of bullets shooting out.
Long Chen moved his feet in succession, moving forward. The projectiles struck the wall opposite him, forming one white dot after another.
Long Chen immediately understood. This was a test of reaction speed. Because it was triggered by a mechanism, without killing intent, it deliberately made a sound when activated, thus reducing the difficulty.
Long Chen shook his head. This kind of assessment was too child's play for him. Although his spiritual energy was sealed, even without using soul power, he could easily avoid it just by relying on the airflow fluctuations when the projectile was launched.
Long Chen pressed forward, the bullets growing denser and denser, but none could touch him. Passing through the dense bullet tunnel, an examiner appeared ahead.
The examiner looked at Long Chen, first stunned, then glanced around at Long Chen, his face full of surprise.
"Perfect score pass."
It turned out that during assessments, the examiners deducted points based on the number of bullets hit, but Long Chen had not a single white mark on his body along the way, so he passed with a perfect score.
He was amazed because there was a formation here that could block a person's soul sensing, allowing them to identify positions by sound and react quickly.
Usually, if you hit fewer than eight, you pass, but Long Chen didn't hit a single one, which shocked the examiner, who ultimately gave him a perfect score to pass.
The next challenge was actually Wooden Dummel Alley. Long Chen was given a wooden stick in his hand. Whenever the stick touched the wooden puppet, the figure would stop moving.
But as soon as he entered Muren Alley, hundreds of wooden puppets rushed over, dazzling everyone.
"Clang, dang, dang... Long
Chen's wooden staff flew through the air. Just as the man had said, whenever the stick touched the wooden figure, it immediately became immobile.
The only challenge was how to prevent those wooden figures from hitting him—a test of speed, observation, and adaptability on the spot.
Long Chen found it amusing. It seemed the Immortal Realm was truly peaceful. For someone like him, who had crawled out countless life-and-death battles, this kind of assessment was simply insignificant.
Long Chen had endured countless battles, countless times close to death, honing his sensory nerves. Even with his spiritual energy and divine sense suppressed, this kind of assessment was far too easy for him.
With a swing of his wooden stick, the wooden puppets were all immobilized. But the only thing that shocked Long Chen was that the puppets here were frighteningly sensitive.
Although Long Chen had also encountered puppets on the Tianwu Continent, these beings that relied on formations to maintain kinetic energy reacted much faster. These puppets seemed to possess an indescribable kind of intelligence.
Long Chen passed the test with ease. When he reached the examiner's place, the examiner's expression was equally remarkable and full of shock, because Long Chen blocked all the attacks and still passed with a perfect score.
After passing the three trials, a hall appeared ahead, where all those who passed the assessment gathered.
When Long Chen appeared, the man from the Earth-Covered Sky had a look of surprise in his eyes. Clearly, Long Chen had also passed through, which surprised him greatly.
Then a sinister smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he lowered his head to say something to a man who looked like an examiner in the distance.
Because the distance was great and his soul power was suppressed, Long Chen couldn't hear what he was saying, but from the way he spoke, he knew this idiot was courting death.
This man from the undercover sky actually told the examiner that he wanted to be placed in the same group as him, but the examiner glanced at Long Chen but said nothing.
Soon, the assessment began. Out of thirty-six contestants, only eight passed, and then the eight were divided into four groups to compete.
This was an elimination match. Eight people eliminated four in each round, and after three rounds came the finals, where the final winner earned the mentor qualification.
However, losers may not necessarily be eliminated and may be listed as candidate mentors. If mentors are in short supply, they may still be promoted to mentor.
However, if there are enough mentors, they may be left out, and after three months, the candidate mentor qualification will be revoked and a new assessment will be required.
Soon, the eight were divided into four groups for assessment. Each was given a wooden sword. The sword felt heavy to the touch, but its exterior was inscribed with special patterns to mitigate the impact, probably to avoid killing someone.
Before the competition, the mentor read the rules aloud with a wooden expression, roughly stating that no one was allowed to take lives during the match, or else it would be treated as intentional homicide and severely punished.
He also mentioned the differences between first and second place and encouraged everyone to try their best to reach the finals.
During the competition, you can admit defeat. There are two ways: one is to admit defeat verbally, and the other is to raise both hands. Once this method appears, the coach will announce the end of the match.
If a mentor declares the end of the competition and intentionally harms others, they will also be disqualified.
After reading a bunch of rules, he began distributing them. To Long Chen's surprise, his opponent wasn't that Damao Tian.
This stunned Long Chen, while the man fighting the man from Dibaotian was furious, cursing loudly:
"You're blatantly cheating! According to the order, I wouldn't even meet him in the first round."
"Don't talk nonsense. This time, the selection was done by drawing lots. If you're not convinced, you withdraw from this match and wait for the next assessment." The examiner sneered.
"Draw lots?" How come we don't know? It's all your own arrangement. You just don't want me to make it to the finals. You're shameless.
The Divine Academy dispute should be open and aboveboard. What you're doing is abusing your position for personal gain, despicable and shameless, and disgracing the Divine Academy's status. The man shouted.
Long Chen suddenly understood. That person had joined later. Originally, Di Baotian was supposed to be grouped with Long Chen, but now that he was grouped with him, it meant there was already a rift between them. Di Baotian not only wanted first place, but also wouldn't let him secure a spot as an alternate, trying to squeeze him out in the first round.
"The Alchemy Institute is in chaos, the Divine Academy is a pool of filth. Is I really the only one in the whole world who is a pure stream?" Long Chen shook his head. Lingxiao Academy was too chaotic.
"Shut up! If you're weak, get out of here right now, or I'll beat you like a dog in a bit." The man with the Earth Cover Heaven sneered fearlessly, his demeanor extremely arrogant.
"Alright, just wait. We will meet again in the mountains and rivers." The man gritted his teeth and gave up immediately. Clearly, he knew he was no match for that Dibaotian and left immediately.
The man with the earth-covering sky finally looked at Long Chen: "Kid, it's not too late to get lost." Long
Chen ignored him and instead looked at his opponent. The opponent instantly broke out in a cold sweat, his face pale as he said, "I admit defeat." This
result surprised everyone, and in the second round, Long Chen's opponent also conceded directly, as did the man from Dibaotian.
As a result, only Long Chen and Di Baotian remained in the end. At that moment, the man who had been driven away earlier, along with several instructors who had previously been assessed, also arrived.
"Kid, you must have bribed them with money, right? Heh heh, the disciples of the Pill Institute really are wealthy. Too bad you can't bribe me, so today I'll beat you until you're left with teeth on the ground."
That Di Baotian looked fierceHe smiled, moved his foot, and swung his wooden sword at Long Chen. Under the surge of divine power, the sword carried a howling gust of force, its power astonishing.
"Your mouth looks a bit awkward to me. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll help you treat it."
As Di Baotian rushed close, Long Chen's long sword slashed out like lightning, flicking his wooden sword and deflecting it. At the same time, the wooden sword struck Di Baotian's chin at a very strange angle.
"Crack!"
A bone-cracking sound rang out, and Di Baotian's jaw was shattered by Long Chen's sword, blood splattering everywhere